The Florida Gators women’s golf team began their season Monday. The team traveled to the Yeamans Hall Club in Charleston, South Carolina, for the Cougar Classic. UF finished the tournament seventh out of 17 teams that participated.
In the first round of the tournament, freshman Sophie Stevens led the Gators. She finished the round in eighth place. The freshman shot a 4-under 66 in her first collegiate action without tallying a bogey on her scorecard.
The Gators were 12-under and in sixth place after round one came to a conclusion. The team shot a collective 275 in the first round resulting in a -9 score for the day.
Stevens nabbed back-to-back birdies on holes 9 and 10. Then, on the back nine, she contributed two more birdies. Stevens ended the day with eight birdies, good for fourth in the field.
Freshman Paula Francisco also made her collegiate debut for Florida. After a tough start to the round, she kept her composure to shoot for a 2-under 69.
The last Gator to finish their first round under par was junior Sarunchana Rattanasin. The Georgia Southern transfer made her debut for UF and broke par with a 4-under 67.
A pair of seniors finished their first rounds at even par. Maisie Filler and Jackie Lucena each posted a 71 score in their season opening rounds and both reached 1-under in round two.
Fifth year Marina Escobar rounded out the lineup. She sat 2-under through 12 holes in her second round. Then, the tournament was suspended due to inclement weather.
In the final round, the Gators found themselves in sixth place at 12-under par. Stevens shot a team-low 69 in round three. She caught fire with three straight birdies and finished the tournament 5-under par.
Rattanasin and Lucena finished the season opener under par. Rattanasin finished 2-under with a T31 outing as Lucena was 1-under and T34. The fifth-year Lucena shot even par or better in all three of her rounds in the tournament.
The rest of the Gators scorecard included Maisie Filler who T39 and was even after round three. Followed by Paual Francisco (T45) and Marina Escobar (T70).
Florida will travel to compete in the Glass City Invitational Sept. 25-26. The two-day tournament will be a 54-hole event.
Contact Max at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @MaxTuckerUF25.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time. Max will be covering the Gators Golf teams this Fall for The Alligator.
